What you need to know
Dodgers show no panic and dominate Padres to force NLDS Game 5
Gavin Lux hits two-run home run to help give Dodgers 8-0 lead
Desperate Dodgers dump Padres and return to Dodger Stadium for Game 5
SAN DIEGO — The opening statement came two batters into the game, Mookie Betts hitting a ball to Chula Vista, the stunned stadium enveloping him in the sweetest of silence.
The follow-up statement came soon thereafter, Shohei Ohtani driving a ball down the right-field line at about 1,000 mph, the silence turning to shock.
The closing argument appeared shortly after that, Will Smith blasting another weak pitch over the center field fence, one dugout dancing, the other one sulking — game over.
Three innings, one message, powerfully delivered Wednesday from the Dodgers to the suddenly harried and humbled San Diego Padres:
This is not 2022. This is not happening again. This is not going to be easy. This is going the distance.
Dodgers show no panic and dominate Padres to force a decisive NLDS Game 5
SAN DIEGO — In the hours before Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on Wednesday night, there was a quiet but palpable belief around the Dodgers dugout, one that belied the seemingly dire state in which they found themselves.
Sure, the team was facing a third-straight elimination in the NLDS, down two games to one to the San Diego Padres.
And no, they were not at full strength, playing without injured veterans Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas on the same day they opted for a bullpen game from their banged-up pitching staff.
Yet, in a stark difference from the last couple of Octobers, they showed no panic. They felt no dread.
Dodgers defeat San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the NLDS
⚾ Dodgers 8, Padres 0 — FINAL
Top of the ninth: Facing Yuki Matsui, Max Muncy struck out looking and Will Smith flied out to right field. Gavin Lux popped out to the catcher.
Bottom of the ninth: Xander Bogaerts led with a single off Dodgers reliever Landon Knack. David Peralta flied out to left field, Jake Cronenworth struck out and Kyle Higashioka popped out to end the game.
With the best-of-five series tied 2-2, Game 5 will be at 5:08 p.m. PDT on Friday at Dodger Stadium (Fox).
Dodgers in complete command heading into the ninth inning
⚾ Dodgers 8, Padres 0 — End of the eighth inning
Top of the eighth: Wandy Peralta struck out Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts before Teoscar Hernández grounded out to third.
Bottom of the eighth: Against Blake Treinen, Luis Arraez zipped a ball to short that was too much for Tommy Edman to handle for a single. After Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded into a force out at second, Jurickson Profar singled to right.
Treinen struck out Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill grounded out to send the game to the ninth.
Gavin Lux hits two-run home run to help give Dodgers 8-0 lead
⚾ Dodgers 8, Padres 0 — End of the seventh inning
Top of the seventh: Alek Jacob struck out Teoscar Hernández before hitting Max Muncy with a pitch. Padres shortstop then let a ball hit by Will Smith jump over his glove for an error, putting runners on the corners.
Tommy Edman laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the first-base side to bring home Muncy, ending Jacob’s stint.
Gavin Lux followed with a two-run home run to left field on the first pitch thrown by Padres reliever Wandy Peralta. It was the third home run of the night for the Dodgers. The 369-foot blast just made it over the wall.
Peralta struck out Chris Taylor for the final out.
Bottom of the seventh: Daniel Hudson, taking over as the Dodgers’ sixth pitcher tonight, struck out Xander Bogaerts. After David Peralta flied out to left field, Jake Cronenworth tripled off the wall in center field for the Padres’ fourth hit. Kyle Higashioka then popped out to short, ending the inning.
Dodgers head into the seventh inning with a 5-0 lead
⚾ Dodgers 5, Padres 0 — End of the sixth inning
Top of the sixth: Gavin Lux hit a lead-off single before Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada struck out Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor. Shohei Ohtani then drew a walk and Estrada got the hook.
Facing Alek Jacob, Mookie Betts flied out to first base.
Bottom of the sixth: Manny Machado flied out to the warning track in center as part of a five-pitch inning for Evan Phillips.
Dodgers lead Padres 5-0 heading into the sixth inning
⚾ Dodgers 5, Padres 0 — End of the fifth inning
Top of the fifth — Padres rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill made a jumping catch at the wall to prevent what was very close to being a lead-off home run by Max Muncy. Will Smith and Tommy Edman grounded out to cap the frame.
Bottom of the fifth: David Peralta led with a single to right off Alex Vesia, who then walked Jake Cronenworth.
With Padres fans as loud as they’ve been all night, Vesia struck out Kyle Higashioka. Mookie Betts made a running catch on a Luis Arraez flare to shallow right.
Evan Phillips then took over on the mound to face Fernando Tatis Jr., who flied out to center field.
Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka prevents Shohei Ohtani from scoring
⚾ Dodgers 5, Padres 0 — End of the fourth inning
Top of the fourth: Chris Taylor struck out, then Shohei Ohtani drew a walk. Ohtani managed to take second base when Mookie Betts lined out sharply to center field.
The Padres then thwarted a Dodgers attempt to extend the lead when Manny Machado threw out Ohtani at home after blocking a liner from Teoscar Hernández. Machado managed to get his glove on the ball, and it ricocheted off the arm of umpire Mark Ripperger.
Machado quickly picked it up and threw a wide, one-hop throw to catcher Kyle Higashioka, who salvaged the play by making a lunging tag on Ohtani for the third out.
Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel signaled to Ohtani to stop at the very last moment, but it appeared Ohtani did not see the sign as he ran past.
Bottom of the fourth: Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia retired the Padres in order.
Will Smith’s two-run blast gives Dodgers 5-0 lead
⚾ Dodgers 5, Padres 0 — End of the third inning
Top of the third inning: Max Muncy led off with a standup double into the right-field corner of Petco Park. Will Smith then hit a two-run home run off Padres reliever Bryan Hoeing to center field.
After striking out Tommy Edman, Hoeing was relieved by Adrian Morejon. Gavin Lux grounded out and Kiké Hernández lined out.
Bottom of the third: Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech took over for Anthony Banda to start the inning. Kopech struck out Kyle Higashioka looking and Luis Arraez flied out to left field.
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a ground-rule double to center field for the Padres’ second hit of the game. Jurickson Profar then flied out to left, ending the inning.
Dodgers extend lead on Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts RBI singles
⚾ Dodgers 3, Padres 0 — End of the second inning
Bottom of the second: Tommy Edman lined out and Gavin Lux drew a walk. Kiké Hernández singled on a line drive to put runners on the corners.
After Chris Taylor struck out, Shohei Ohtani singled to right field, scoring Lux. Ohtani’s hit ended Padres starter Dylan Cease’s night.
Facing Padres reliever Bryan Hoeing, Mookie Betts singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Hernández to make it 3-0. Teoscar Hernández grounded out to end the frame.
Bottom of the second inning: Manny Machado grounded out to short to lead off the inning. That ended Ryan Brasier’s solid opening stint — he retired the four batters he faced — and Anthony Banda took over for the Dodgers.
Banda struck out Padres rookie Jackson Merrill, then walked Xander Bogaerts. Former Dodger David Peralta followed with a single up the middle, leading to a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior. Jake Cronenworth popped out to shortstop Tommy Edman to end the inning.
Dodgers take lead on another Mookie Betts home run
⚾ Dodgers 1, Padres 0 — End of the first inning
Top of the first inning: Shohei Ohtani grounded out to start the game before Mookie Betts hit a solo home run to center field off Padres starter Dylan Cease to give the Dodgers an early lead. It marked the second straight game Betts has homered in the first inning.
After the home run, Teoscar Hernández reached base on a single. But he was left stranded there when Max Muncy flied flied out and Will Smith lined out.
Bottom of the first: So far, so good for Ryan Brasier. The Dodgers opener retired the Padres in order, striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. along the way.
It’s happening again. Dodgers on verge of another ugly October encore
SAN DIEGO — Gulp. Sigh. Damn. It’s happening again.
For the second time in three postseasons, the Dodgers showed up at San Diego’s Petco Park on a cool October night brimming with confidence, riding on emotion, stung by skepticism, ready for revenge.
And once again, they’re eating it.
This wipeout is not yet as spectacular as the stunning crush of two Octobers ago, but give it time.
Once again, after losing Game 3 of the National League Division Series to the San Diego Padres, 6-5, the Dodgers find themselves on the brink of an all-too-familiar fate.
Freddie Freeman will not start for the Dodgers in NLDS Game 4
After initially saying first baseman Freddie Freeman would start in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Padres on Wednesday night, the Dodgers have reversed course.
The Dodgers released a new starting lineup less than two hours before first pitch with Freeman’s name off the card.
Freeman managed to start in each of the first three games of this series despite playing through a badly sprained ankle and apparent side issue (Freeman had a wrap around his torso in the clubhouse following Game 3).
However, Freeman evidently failed to complete his pregame routine without issue.
Without Freeman and Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers will start Kiké Hernández at third base (with Max Muncy shifting to first) and Chris Taylor in center field (with Tommy Edman shifting to shortstop)
The Dodgers feel confident about facing Padres starter Dylan Cease for the second time this series, especially as he took the mound on shortened three-days rest.
Padres bullpen acquisitions making an impact vs. Dodgers
As important as the Dodgers’ trade-deadline acquisition of hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech was, Padres general manager A.J. Preller added three impact bullpen arms over the summer, acquiring left-hander Tanner Scott and right-hander Bryan Hoeing from Miami and right-hander Jason Adam from Tampa Bay.
Scott went 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA and four saves in 28 regular-season games and did not allow a run in 2⅔ innings of three NLDS games against the Dodgers, striking out the dangerous Shohei Ohtani in each of the first three games, including his eighth-inning whiff in Tuesday night’s 6-5 Game 3 victory.
Adam went 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA in 27 regular-season games and did not allow a hit in 2⅓ innings of two NLDS games. He retired the side in order in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game. Hoeing went 1-1 with a 1.52 ERA in 18 regular-season games and retired two batters and walked one in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Preller also acquired veteran left-hander Martin Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perez went 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 10 starts and is expected to serve as a swingman in the playoffs.
“A.J. is putting together a team that is looking to be built for winning a World Series, which is where we’re heading, and bullpens are a big part of that,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said before Game 4 Wednesday night.
“I think you can look at any successful team that makes a deep run in the playoffs and you’re going to have a deep bullpen. So to A.J.’s credit, he recognized that. He also picked up a starter in Perez who has helped us win some games. But the bullpen in close games against good teams … that’s a separator a lot of times.”
Shohei Ohtani was supposed to fix the Dodgers’ postseason woes. So why hasn’t he?
SAN DIEGO — This year would be different.
This year would be about winning a postseason series.
This year would be the year the best player in baseball made sure of it.
Or not.
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers are on the verge of elimination from the National League Division Series. The San Diego Padres beat the Dodgers on Tuesday, 6-5, so the Dodgers either win two straight games or lose in their first round for the third straight season.
Bullpen will be tasked with saving battered and bruised Dodgers in Game 4
SAN DIEGO — Their starting shortstop, a defensive whiz who is having one of the best offensive seasons of his 11-year career, left Tuesday night’s game in the third inning after aggravating a left-adductor strain not once, not twice, but three times in the first three innings, and he appears doubtful for Wednesday night.
Their first baseman and No. 3 hitter, an eight-time All-Star and the 2020 National League most valuable player, was pulled for a pinch-runner in the eighth inning, his severely sprained right ankle hurting so much he could barely jog to first base after his two-out single, and he is questionable for Wednesday night.
Their rotation is so thin through just three playoff games that, faced with a win-or-go-home game in the National League Division Series on Wednesday night, they will employ a bullpen game.
Dodgers’ miscalculations with starting pitching have put their season in peril
SAN DIEGO — The point again feels redundant at this stage, but it’s nonetheless worth repeating because it’s the reason why the Dodgers are on the verge of another divisional-round elimination: Their starting pitching is atrocious.
The suspicions of the winter, which became legitimate fears in the regular season, have turned into a full-scale disaster in these playoffs.
Incredibly, the problem everyone saw coming is somehow even worse than imagined. In this National League Division Series, their starters have registered a combined earned-run average of 10.13. The Dodgers are behind in the best-of-five series to the San Diego Padres, two games to one.
The Dodgers’ starter in their elimination game on Wednesday?
TBD.
As in, to be determined.
Game 3 rewind: Dodgers can’t overcome disastrous inning in loss to Padres
SAN DIEGO — In the run-up to this week’s National League Division Series, it was the quietest player on the Dodgers roster who delivered the most profound speech.
This series, soft-spoken veteran Chris Taylor told his teammates in a hitter’s meeting before Game 1 on Saturday, would be all about intensity.
“Every time we play these guys,” Taylor said of the San Diego Padres, “they always have high intensity and a lot of energy.”
So, he implored the club, “We need to match that.”
Three games in, it isn’t happening.
Dodgers vs. Padres: How to watch and betting odds for Game 4
The Dodgers continue the postseason Wednesday when they face the San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Petco Park in San Diego. The game is scheduled to start at 6:08 p.m. PDT and will air on FS1 and Fox Deportes. Radio broadcasts of the game will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español) in the Los Angeles area.
Here are the betting odds for Game 4:
If the Dodgers force a Game 5, it will be played at Dodger Stadium on Friday at 5:08 p.m. PDT (Fox).